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No, not Elvis. Prince.
No, not my dog Prince. Prince the singer.

(Yes my dog is named Prince. Yes some people at the office, where he is a daily fixture, thought mon chien had passed away when the news of the pop star’s death surfaced.)

I was / am a massive Prince fan. In the summer of 1984 I drove my roommates nuts playing Purple Rain over and over in our tiny cabin astride the old Paignton House golf course at the now defunct Paignton House Resort on Lake Rousseau. Apparently my doves were crying.

This isn’t going to be another coming of age tribute to Prince. I won’t bore you with how he helped me get through my darkest times as a late teenager. Or how he spoke to me and me alone with his music. Or how seeing the movie Purple Rain made me feel like there was hope in this world for a short beige man.

Nor am I going to provide a commentary on his contribution to music as we know it today. How he both adopted others’ styles and also invented new genres. I won’t touch on his most amazing Super Bowl Halftime show or the criticism his selection originally faced. I won’t give you a history lesson on his weirdness, his namelessness, nor his Torontoness.

I also won’t lament on what a crummy year it has been losing both Prince and Bowie in the span of a few months. That goes without saying. I also won’t mention these things come in threes, thereby now hexing every iconic living musical artist to their potential demise.

Others have done all that in Spades.

Instead I am going to tell you a simple story.

I never got to see Prince live. Years ago I was invited and didn’t go. I can’t remember why. I think it was because I was busy watching a football game. My spouse went and she said he was amazing. She wasn’t really an appreciator of his artistry until that event.

Me? I expected I would see him someday. There was something about Prince that seemed invincible. He lived, or so I thought, so cleanly. He was so devout. He seemed to be normal, despite his weirdness. I always thought there would be a tomorrow, a next year, a next time. Then I could see him.

Prince’s death came out of the blue. You couldn’t say that about Michael Jackson. Or Elvis. Some people were shocked by Bowie’s demise, others had been hearing rumors or listening to internet suspicion. But Prince went out of the blue.

Now I have a regret. A regret that is stained by my procrastination. I wish I had seen him live. I wish I had seen him more than once. In death his lesson to me is simple. Don’t put things off that matter to you. Go hike that mountain. See that monument. Visit that distant relative. Check in on that old friend. Run that first marathon.

Even in death Prince is still sending me life lessons.

Business conferences are like chess games.

You never know how your attendance is going to play out. What sessions will be great. What will stink. Where the best networking is.

Despite having attended multiple versions of the IEG Sponsorship Conference in the past, I decided this was the year to change up my regular modus operandi. I resolved to understand from as many sources as I could, what’s actually happening in the global sponsorship industry in 2016. My not so hidden agenda was to come out with an insight, or three, that could be utilized for a future marketing opportunity.

I think the question could be best positioned as What’s Changed in Sponsorship? The answer isn’t simple but can fill three buckets:  (1) Nothing; (2) Everything; (3) Anything.

1. Nothing. 

   Yes nothing. Shockingly brands are still sponsoring what the C-Suite wants. Shockingly brands are still utilizing gut instinct. Shockingly awareness is still being referenced as a key benefit of sponsorship. 

   Equally as surprising is the fact that many speakers and delegates still think that suggesting themes as “start with your objectives,” “know your audience,” and “we only do custom proposals,” is somehow innovative or unique. 

   Despite these relics from the past, there is one significant theme that thankfully hasn’t disappeared and is critical to the existence of the industry. That is the simple reality that nothing ties into passions of a consumer more powerfully than sponsorship. It might come in a different package today, think YouTube influencer, but the core remains the same.

2. Everything. 

   Even IEG is being repositioned as a newsletter and conference company, as they are part of a WPP consolidation that has created a new company called ESP properties. Legendary founder Lesa Ukman declared this was her last year hosting her venerable conference. In 2017 Ukman will be a delegate. 

   B2B is converging with B2C as brand marketers realize they aren’t selling business to business, they are selling human to human. As the role of small and innovative business increasingly becomes more important in global economies, the need for corporate marketers to achieve scale is also driving this. 

   The NBA is allowing jersey sponsorship. It’s a three-year test with a plethora of rules and regulations. The first major league to do so. The Cleveland Cavaliers, for example, have an interesting question to be answered. How much will a company pay to have their logo on LeBron James.

3. Anything. 

   What continues to amaze me about the business we are in, is that you can create, invent, or design anything you can dream. No single speaker epitomized this more than superstar keynote Dean Kamen. The holder of four hundred patents, he has invented devices that help people with diabetes, cancer, limb loss, mobility issues and more. His creations range from the Segway to the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine to a machine that can generate power from cow dung.  

   Kamen created FIRST in 1989 to encourage and inspire kids to participate in science. His mission was to create a science competition that resembled a youth sports league. Today the property has over one million participants from eighty plus countries, and over sixty thousand people at a massive world championship. Kamen is a genius. His prosthetic arm for ARPA is allowing wounded soldiers to regain their independence. He didn’t create his property to gain fame or wealth. He has that. He created his property to help build the youth of today into the leaders of tomorrow. His IEG pitch was to find partners who could help him build FIRST to a place of ubiquity. So that every child in America, and perhaps the world, can be exposed to science. His model is an amazing one that could be patterned for any program.

   Too many people still seemed to confuse the changes in technology with changes in marketing. I’m not the first to suggest this. However, just because anyone with an iPhone can produce a video or a banner, doesn’t mean that’s where the opportunity lies. The opportunity lies in the reality that sponsorship is an industry where you can create anything. It’s the most flexible and adaptable marketing form and continues to be so.

Whoever coined the phrase The more things change, the more they stay the same, best summarized this year’s IEG Sponsorship Conference. 

As a company IEG was a global thought leader in sponsorship-building approaches and protocols that have become ubiquitous throughout the industry. It will be interesting  to see how its conference and newsletter fare when they are disconnected from the actual business. In some respects I’m sad to see the end of Lesa Ukman’s tenure. 

Perhaps the change makes me feel old.

South by Southwest kicks off this week, and even though it’s my third time attending, it still feels like I’m a decade behind.

Which of course is crazy to have FOMO over something you’re actually doing, but nonetheless, that’s how I feel. Stronger than my FOMO is my HYPE. I’m uncontrollably excited. SXSW is a magical convergence of art, business, inspiration, food, networking, and Austin. Love that place. If you’ve never been and are going…I won’t spoil it for you. It’s supremo.

The first time you attend SXSW, people advise that you use it as a breaking-in experience. The event is so overwhelming, broad, and consuming that it really does require a massive adjustment. There are times in the day when you don’t know which of the fifty sessions to be in. What activations to spy on. What margarita bar to drink in. What trade show exhibit to immerse in. Or maybe you should just wander into a coffee shop and meet some new friends.

My first Southby I got sick. I never get sick. I couldn’t believe it. I spent over two days in bed with the flu. My second Southby was amazing, but I had to leave after two days. This year? Well, I am not feeling great as I write this, which means by flying time I will be perfect! I’ve booked a five-night stay so I can see every bit of the Interactive festival as possible. Though I would love to stay for Music, it’s just too long a run.

So armed with self-forecasted good health and all the time I need, I can now put the perfect Southby plan in place. Want to know what I plan to do?

1. See Obama. The POTUS and the First Lady were both announced just last week as keynote speakers. I won’t be there to see Mrs. O, but I plan on lining up early to see the President. I’m giddy with excitement.

2. See Trump. No, just kidding. He’s not on the agenda.

3. Shake hands with a man who designed and built his own artificial arm. The SXSW Trade Show doesn’t start and stop with digital media activations. There are robots, new products, tech gurus, and inspiring medical discoveries. Last year there really was a one-armed man and a crazy long line just to shake his robotic hand. In fact, this year they’re even launching an inaugural Robot Ranch at SXSW Create. Get ready to step into the future.

3. Go to SoutBites. This convergent track has a ton of sessions covering food industry and marketing and festivals, and is a must-attend for any packaged goods marketer. I was particularly enthralled with where food festivals are headed. Culinary events are going to explode over the next few years as the affluent and young both seek new experiences. The way to a man’s heart, and wallet, is still through his belly.

4. Wear my T1 pin with pride when our Chief Creative Officer Graham Lee presents Comic Sans Exists for a Reason on Saturday. I am absolutely sure no one else has original footage of Russell “The Cashman” Oliver in their presentation! Join the discussion around the key question “Is bad design good?” Need the deets? This snazzy graphic says it all.

5. I plan to Dare Greatly. That’s the title of an amazing book I just finished reading, about how dealing with vulnerability can help you succeed. Its author Brené Brown is also doing a keynote, and I’m sure she will be a great presenter, as she crafted the fifth most-watched TED talk of all time.

6. Go to SXsports. The future of sports and the future of tech meet head-on in an open field collision that produces some pretty amazing content. Last year a session on how players are prepared for the NFL combine, down to the minutes they sleep and the ounces of water they drink, was packed. Of course none of us attendees were going to any combine. But oh to dream.

7. Share. I will be writing a couple of blogs for the Association of Canadian Advertisers. So check those out. As well, my team is building an insights presentation about the conference, which we plan to share with our clients in the weeks after our return. Plus you can follow our whole team’s experience through #T1atSXSW. The live feed on our homepage starts Friday, so don’t miss a beat.

I just checked the weather forecast, and the first day or two are a bit rainy, but then the clouds are breaking and it gets very warm. Let’s add sun worshipping to my To Do list right now!

I’m enjoying two glorious, sunny days in New York at the The Sport Business Summit, put on by Leaders.

Though some of our team has previously attended, this is my first time. It’s the third U.S. iteration of a fairly large UK event that is over a decade old, and from what I’m told by other delegates, it’s grown dramatically from 2015. They announced six hundred delegates are in attendance, but I think that’s a generous number. Regardless, it’s a well-produced, slick event in a great venue, The TimesCenter on 41st street. This Leaders group understands branding very well.

Many people ask me why I attend conferences. Hopefully it’s not because I come across as a know-it-all! No, I attend conferences for all the same reasons I pitch you in attending mine, plus one more. I love experiencing others’ events to improve my own. Whether that be through blatant theft of something amazing that I saw or experienced, or perhaps stimulated by something frustrating. Either way, being a customer is the best research in the world.

A new reason for me to attend conferences is to share my learnings (not about the event mechanics, but from the content) with you. I am very fortunate to attend so many events. I realized I shouldn’t be so selfish. So here today you get the taste of a first of a new periodic twist to my blog. No formal announcement or name. Let’s just call it a Conference Report. I will let my creative team brand it up later!

The highlight of the event for me was David Droga from Droga5, the hottest advertising agency in America right now. His firm did the trailers for The Martian, featuring a unique Matt Damon Under Armour integration.

A great example of multiple parties winning because they were an advertisement for the movie, UA, and even Matt Damon; yet to the consumer they were inspiration. I loved his line that “everything is advertising” today and that a brand needs to know what it stands for, develop a consistent “red thread” that communicates their promise, and then engage in ongoing disposable activities to communicate it. To Droga, an advert or an event or vine video is disposable. Yet they contribute to building a place for the brand in the consumer’s mind. A great example of a red thread is their client at Prudential, who relentlessly pursued a mission to Make America financially smarter. This provides a platform for all activities.

Two other groups who presented and truly get their red thread are Real Madrid CF and Williams F1 Racing. For Real Madrid it is simple. Every player, every employee, every club owner must possess Ambition. In essence the speaker proclaimed that Real Madrid is so successful because they aim to be. Simple. Powerful. At Williams F1 they have a similar red line – double entendre intended. There, every employee has one job description. To make the car go faster. The leaders at Williams F1 proclaim that every employee is a racer. That sets the stage for all brand relationships, innovations, and even new businesses they create. Williams F1 currently has thirty-six for-profit projects leveraging their auto racing technology in other industry sectors. A bizarre example? They are designing a system to reduce energy loss in grocery stores’ cool sections that makes the middle of the aisles cold.

Interesting learnings were to be had from Olympic partners BMW, Dow and P&G. BMW has used their bobsleigh success from Sochi to launch a program of building racing wheelchairs for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

If you don’t remember, the car maker developed Team USA’s sleds and vaulted them to unprecedented success. Now they plan to do the same and are very proud of their focus on the Paras. I think it’s brilliant.

P&G has continued to evolve their Thank you Mom campaign if for no other reason than some of their participating brands see an 11% higher marketing spend ROI on Olympic-associated campaigns, versus those pitches that go ringless. That should be in every NSO’s pitch deck!

Dow is a unique sponsor in that they are a B-to-B company looking to create new channels, or as they say, skip a generation of traditional supply chains.

What all Olympic brands also emphasized was the positive impact on their agencies Olympic work has. Given the Games are only every two years, these brands see an increased creative effort from their partners and their internal stakeholders. It seems that their Olympic brand promise of inspiration impacts more than just young athletes.

The only other discussion that impressed me was MasterCard. They have 70,000 sponsorship assets globally. The guy who counted them all was in the room! They used to use those assets to tell stories, but have transitioned their activation approach to story making.

Leveraging their Priceless platform, they reward consumers from small surprises to once-in-a-lifetime experiences, that have been identified through data intelligence. Delivering these Priceless moments then creates the script to make stories. They are the first brand I have heard use this approach. Watch for lots more story making speeches on the conference circuit for the next two years.

Overall I was disappointed in this event. I had heard great things of Leaders and their events, but this summit missed the mark wildly. Many of the speakers talked in uncessarily broad terms at a level that wouldn’t interest a Grade 10 class. There were multiple references to speakers’ own children who watch three screens at once and other profound research. Honestly whoever created that cliché should be barred from their favourite dessert for a year. In general the speakers were not pushed or prodded to get deep.

As well, the format of the event was stale and boring. Almost every session was a moderated panel, all of whom except for Scott McCune and Bernie Mullin lacked energy, knowledge, and depth. Mullin would be a superstar moderator if he wasn’t so inclined to promoting his own firm with every question he asked. But he and McCune are keynote-worthy, so their moderating was a treat.

The networking for the event was the predictable buffet lunch and end-of-day hospitality bar. Speakers were ushered in and out of back doors like heads of state, making delegates feel almost criminal for seeking to connect with them. It felt like there were two tiers to the event. Those in a secret club, or perhaps the organizer’s clients, and the rest of the regular delegates.

Some delegates said I should see their London event, which is fine. Except I paid for the New York event.

It’s seems that many people who are asked to pay tribute to the dead use a hauntingly similar opening line, which is to describe the first time the speaker met the deceased. 

I won’t be asked to speak at Dennis Glavin’s funeral, but I do need to pay tribute to him. Dennis, was the founder of Glavin & Associates where I began my career, many many many hairs ago. My first meeting with him was over the phone, which resulted in an impromptu live interview not an hour later. From that moment, until I received word this morning that he passed away in his sleep last evening, he was a looming shadow in my life.

Dennis Glavin was a larger than life figure. He commanded a room like few people I have ever met. There was no client he feared. No pitch too intimidating. No concept too daunting. He was too smart to be a promotions expert. He was too articulate to be writing contest headlines. He was too well read to be reading briefs about product launches. 

His writing was both artistically beautiful and literally masterful.  His written word was only rivalled by his oral performances. His command of written and spoken language was buffeted by a curiosity that made him resemble a human Google, long before that invention changed forever the way world discovers.

Dennis had his warts. While a tribute to him should not be tainted by describing them, it would also be disingenuous of me to pretend to you that they didn’t exist. More appropriately for this tribute they made him part of who he was. Someone you could genuinely follow off the edge of the earth one day and the next minute wish to pummel. He was as fascinating a human as you could ever meet. 

Dennis was my business father. He took a chance on a kid from a tier two Political Science program and put him in front of blue chip marketing clients. He let me grow a dying account into our largest business. He rewarded me handsomely, financially, and emotionally. 

I can’t put a price on that. If that price was the times we struggled, I will take that. We worked together for a decade, over two stints, before I was thirty five. That’s a long time in a young man’s life.

He was a massive Steelers fan. Check.
Loved March Madenes. Check.
Could drink like a fiend. Check.
Had a wicked sense of humour. Check. 
Could out debate Gorbachev. Check. 
Insanely smart. Check. 
Loved nice cars. Check.
Was a neat freak. Check.
Loved his Mom like no one you ever met. Double Check.
Revered the legacy of his father. Check. Check. Check.

Dennis and I had an acrimonious ending to our last business relationship. I say that only for context. I saw him only two times after over the course of fifteen years.  Once we had a drink to see if we could rekindle our working relationship. It didn’t. The last was a unplanned encounter after he had been stricken with cancer. Although he was recovering, he was nothing short of miserable. That brief encounter crushed me. He wasn’t the same imposing man that loomed large in my memory. 

That’s not the man I’m going to remember.

I’m going to remember the man who built a business with his bare hands. I’m going to remember the man who who overcame childhood illness, obesity, being bedridden, and schoolyard persecution to push himself to become the most refined sense of himself he could be. I’m going to remember the man who sold laundry detergent from the trunk of his car in the depth of the Manitoba winter to support his family. I’m going to remember the  man who saw the future of consumer promotions before anyone else and launched his namesake company. I’m going to rember the man who spawned generation after generation of employees who went on to own their own businesses. I’m going to remember the man who bought me a new car for graduation. I’m going to remember the man I promised that I would never tell anyone about that gift. (Sorry!). I’m going to remember the man who told me “I am your MBA”, when I excitedly announced I was accepted to grad school. I’m going to remember the man who could swing a golf club so beautifully, the sun came out on cloudy days just to watch. I’m going to remember the man who lined our office hallways with amazing gift baskets from Oliver’s Bakery for Christmas. I’m going to remember the man who taught us how to concept ideas that no client ever dreamed possible. I’m going to remember the man who would make me take his car keys home when he knew he was in for a crazy night. I’m going to remember the man who overtipped everywhere he went. I’m going to remember the man who found it hard to publicly let people get close to him, yet privately he truly coveted them. I’m going to remember the man who somehow brought smiles to the family of his deceased secretary, who died from a horrific cancer discovered only when she broke her leg, during his spellbinding eulogy of her. I am going to remember the man who teased one of our colleagues on a relentless basis, yet we all knew how much he loved this guy. I’m going to remember the man who cried when I shared my problems with him. I’m going to remember the man who told me not to find my birth parents, because he was convinced the ones who raised me were perfect

I’m going to remember the man I met December 4th, 1987. RIP Dennis “Hondo” Glavin. 

The circus has left town. Leaving behind an abandoned trail of ticket stubs and empty beer cups, hazy recollections of celebrity sightings and behind-the-ropes parties, and everlasting memories of cold and the best damn slam dunk contest ever.

NBA All-Star 2016 won’t be the last big event to hit Toronto. This year alone we have the World Cup of Hockey, 104th Grey Cup, and IIHF World Junior Championship opening rounds to look forward to. They join an already amazing highlight reel of annual events like TIFF, Pride Toronto, and Caribana. But the magnitude of what we witnessed was somewhat unprecedented and educational.

Every cool venue in town was the site of some sort of official or unofficial NBA event. Restaurants, galleries, event spaces, hotels, and even a certain performance venue. Casa Loma held a Jordan party. An unindentified Bridal Path home was rented for LeBron & Drake’s bash. A championship boxer held court at a certain venue on King Street for his own private dance party.

Media of all sorts descended upon us. The massive and traditional TV networks, newspapers, magazines, and radio. As well as the global and agile digital and social networks. International social reach exceeded even the Super Bowl. It was like a mini Olympics impact-wise. The legacy of holding such an event is measured in exposure, economic, and excitement. There is, however, an important benefit for consideration. That is of key lessons learned for marketers.

It was a bit surprising to hear how many people were surprised about the impact of All-Star Weekend. One business leader told me they flat out missed the boat. Another asset holder realized they could have leveraged their property better. While I can’t claim any particular expertise to leveraging NBA All-Star events, we did have some great success, but there still is lots of learning to be taken from an event like this. Learning that can be applied to the next major event window.

Whether you are a brand or a charity, you should be planning ahead and examining what’s happening in your markets over the next two years. Yes two years. Whether you will be an official rights holder or not, the first step to success is planning ahead. But before we talk about planning, you may wonder if I’m advocating guerilla marketing. I’m not recommending ambush. I am personally, however, supportive of activities that contribute to the investors of an event.

Let me explain. Ambush is when Brand B, the non-rights holder of a major festival, runs a promotion entitled Win a Trip to the Big Party, in attempt to diminish the equity if Brand A’s official rights relationship. No, what I’m suggesting is that if Brand B decides to buy tickets, buy hosting packages, market to tourists to attend the festival, stage an adjunct event, or create B2B transactions, then I’m all for it. Why? Because their efforts help generate returns for the tourism boards, government agencies, and visitors associations that often underwrite so much of these events. Often to an amount much much larger than the sponsor. But I digress, and any more of this and Bill Cooper will be hanging me in effigy.

Back to the educational part of the NBA All-Star experience. We’ve all witnessed the opportunities such a big event brings. Now is the time to be looking ahead. Your number one success factor will be lead time. But future planning on its own isn’t enough, and sometimes time isn’t on your side. Then you need other resources. I will use the teachings of one of my early mentors for this one. He was a crusty old print broker who taught me every single day in the first five years of my career. One of his favourite messages was the time-money axis. In his own words, anything a client wanted could be done – they just took time and money. The less time you have, the more money you needed. He was right.

But in today’s marketing ecosystem, I think money has been equaled by clout, channel, access, and influence. So in your planning, you don’t have to be deterred if you have money and/or some combination of the newer ingredients for marketing success.

If you’re thinking about upcoming major events that you want to leverage, you need to plot a militaristic strategy. Take a thorough look at where the event will be held, where the primary hotels are, convention facilities, public spaces. Overlay on your map the most appropriate entertainment venues, dining attractions, and unique event spaces. Now overlay on it all the human consideration. Traffic. Transit. Pedestrians. Parking. By the time you’re done you should have a five-star general-worthy battle map.

Keep it handy.

Now look at the different groups you want to influence. VIPs? Celebrities? Government Oficials? Speakers? Entertainers? Visitors? Residents? Industry Leaders? Events have many layers. They are more complex than icebergs. The live audience is very different based on rank, importance, industry connections, and customer relationships. In overly simple terms, the public is outside the ropes, and the rest are inside. Perhaps your plan is to talk to several groups. Perhaps you want to flip the ropes around. Perhaps you’re not sure. If you’re a charity who has never before worked with a big event, it can be daunting. Even for a major brand who has lots of global experience, perhaps you’re the new brand manager and don’t want to appear nieve. This is where you need to network like mad. Read about such past events. Talk with suppliers, venues who hosted previous versions, maybe even event attendees. The internet can lead you through this web faster than you can imagine.

When you’re done, pull your map out again and give it a closer look. You may now want to make some revisions.

Now that you have an understanding of what could happen in your region and who will be involved, you still need to think about how you can get involved. What do you do if you feel your brand or organization  is too small to play? Well there is an APP for that, but you can skip the APP Store – I will share the secret with you. It’s called leverage. Perhaps you have access to venues that outsiders won’t. Or volunteers. Or goodwill. Or media relations. I know of one charity who scored a pretty great cross-promo with the NBA, all due to their request of a middle man to set up a meeting.

If you feel you need to get more drastic, then take some risks. Rent every limo for the entire week. Book off the three best restaurants. Sound like a business blockade? No, it’s just being a first mover.

Is that too aggressive for you? Okay create a fundraiser and invite visiting celebrities to be a key part of it. Make sure they understand how important the cause is in that region. Position yourself as a local expert or a media channel or an information provider. All it takes is a little packaging of the expertise you already have.

The bottom line is the bottom line here. Major events can provide amazing impact for you brand, business, or cause. The sole reason that your tax dollars and resources are utilized to lure them in is to provide benefits to your organization, employees, customers, and suppliers. Lasting benefits. So there is no reason you shouldn’t take advantage of these opportunities.

Ready for tipoff?

@CdnSponsorForum @MarkHarrison3 thanks for for an incredible first #CSFX experience! #inspired

This was one of my favourite tweets received after CSFX16 came to a rocking conclusion on Saturday. Rocking? How rocking? I’m talking Sam Roberts surprise live appearance rocking. CSFX is headed to the JUNO Awards in 2017, and Roberts, along with guitarist Dave Nugent, shocked our delegates with a sneak peek of what’s to expect.

CSFX16 was indeed truly inspiring. Call me biased if you will, but I was thoroughly inspired, and the sentiment was unsolicitedly shared with me by so many delegates, it could have been the conference theme. With fifty moving speakers, three hundred motivated delegates, and the unprecedented buzz of the NBA All-Star all around, CSFX16 had everyone soaring!

Now comes the hard part. Keeping that amazing feeling. Translating it into your every day. Unleashing it into action. It’s time to turn inspiration into perspiration. But how?

Well, let’s look at the ingredients that inspired you so thoroughly. Was it a great presentation or panel? Perhaps it was a key slide or message from several speakers? So let’s begin there. Make a list. Type out the notes you took. Number how many jolts of inspiration you took in. If it was twelve or more, then great. If it was less, you need to build the list. Now calendarize each jolt of inspiration to the Wednesday of the next 12-16 weeks. Yes Wednesday. That’s Humpday. This will get you over the hump. Then every week I want you to reflect on that inspiration. Re-read your notes. Peruse their presentation. Look up the speaker online and see what she has said recently in the Twitterverse. Send her an email or a LinkedIn request to stay in touch. Don’t let it slip.

The second ingredient probably came from some memories you had from the weekend. Whether it be a networking event, one of the presentations, an NBA All-Star event, or your meeting Sam Roberts. Share those memories. Write a blog. Curate something for Instagram. Develop an internal presentation to share key learnings. Putting your own spin on these memories will not only ensure they stay in your mental archive for a longer time, but also add to your motivation to achieve greater heights. At that moment, when they happened, you were ready to climb a mountain. Don’t you want that feeling back again and again?

The final ingredient was undoubtedly some of the amazing people you met. I was blown away by how many people came in from all across Canada for this year’s event. I guess I shouldn’t have been. I know you made a ton of great contacts whether it be through the CSFX16 basketball tournament, a bus ride to the NBA All-Star Practice, or sharing a roundtable. Now comes the easy part. Staying in touch, building a lasting relationship, growing your network, establishing lifelong alliances. You have our app. Our app has you. Put it to use. Make a list of fifty – yes fifty. Or at least twenty-five. I prefer fifty, people that you want to stay connected with. Every day do something incredibly simple. Say HELLO. Thank-you Adele for bringing that word back into culture, community, and business. It’s a great word. So every day, send a note, make a call, send a handwritten note, extend a lunch invite, or hookup when you’re in one another’s hometowns. It’s that easy. One a day. The next fifty business days. Your business network has just exploded.

I don’t need to wrap up this blog with a corny message about hard work and how it pays off. But what I can say is this. If you follow just one of the suggestions above, or two, or all three, you will generate a far greater return on your time and resources invested in CSFX, than you could possibly imagine. I know personally I wish I could stop time and stay suspended in the magic of February 11th to 13th. I can’t stand waiting over a year until CSFX17 in Ottawa. But I have to. Sadly it only comes once a year. But I like trying to keep that feeling year-round.

Ever been the only person in the room who didn’t know one single other? It’s okay if you’re at the doctor’s office. But has this happened to you at a baby shower or dinner party? Worse, what about at a conference?

Personally it’s never been a situation that has bothered me. But for many the thought of walking into a room full of strangers is terrifying.

I’m assuming by now you’re registered, booked, and packed for the 2016 Canadian Sponsorship Forum Experience. Perhaps your excitement is being partially eroded by the FOBA. I just made this up, but I’m creating a phobia called Fear of Being Awkward. FOBA occurs when you’re standing in a reception, looking around at dozens of gleeful conversations happening and not one involving you. You feel like everyone else can see how alone you are, so no one is going to approach because they suspect whatever general ailment you have, it must be contagious.

So now you’re drowning in FOBA. You want to bury your face in your phone, but realize that will slaughter any hope you have of being approached. You’re slowly nursing your coffee, but the crummy little hotel-issued cup makes that impossible. You’re slowly performing a finger autopsy on your muffin, but realize there is a good chance a cranberry is now visibly stuck in your upper front teeth.

Suddenly an important looking group heads your way, only to then ask if you could take their photo as they have already selfied themselves beyond acceptable societal limits. Immediately after you finished the portraits while balancing all three of their cameras and your muffin and your coffee and your own phone, they have disappeared without so much as a handshake or an introduction.

Networking. Ugh. A four-letter word to many people.

But it doesn’t have to be. Networking is a skill to be learned, practiced, refined, and honed. Like public speakers, the best networkers are not born naturals, despite popular belief. Practicing networking will just add to your confidence.

When I network I tend to intuitively follow a few specific guidelines. One of the most important is to not show up at the event with the look of a mass murderer, also known as the about to miss their target salesperson. Nothing turns people off more than being pitched hard before the handshake is cold. Don’t believe me? Try it. I will bring the video camera.

Networking shouldn’t be about trying to find the big whale. Networking should be about sending out a vibe about who you are as a person. Be natural. Someone that people enjoy being around. The laws of attraction will result in the big fish coming to you and not vice versa.

Another key to networking is to act fast. What I mean is this. In almost any networking event you are bound to be in line or seated next to someone. At first glance, introduce yourself. Before you sit down or grab a spoonful of cherry tomatoes for your salad. Don’t wait and appear to be revving up your nerve. Go for it.

Get in quickly. Then get out just as quickly. If the other person wants to engage, they will keep the conversation going. If they don’t, you’ve saved yourself a ton of dignity because you don’t separate feeling like a loser. It’s easy to get in if you’ve done your homework.

Your homework should be done well before the conference. It starts with a short list of intriguing, but innocuous opening lines. Leading with “that opening keynote sucked” may be one to stay away from. As the opening keynote speaker, you can understand the bias in my advice. But you do need to have better game than “Have you been to the Forum before?” I suggest you laterally write up some opening lines and how you anticipate them to reply.

Be positive. Be upbeat. Be interesting. Don’t be trying to sell, recruit, or dare I say recruit for other reasons. One great way to be interesting is to know something the other person doesn’t that you can share causally and utilize to build a dialogue. For example, if you have seen one of the speakers previously. Or perhaps you watched them online before the conference. Drafting on the intrigue of someone else or something else provides a nice halo for your brand. Translation? I’m telling everyone my real name is Mitch Joel at CSFX. Check out our head shots to see this isn’t going to be that hard for me to pull off. I hope.

Now that you have a conversation started, get your foot off the gas and mind your GPS. Where can you take this conversation at a pace. Don’t rush through it because they aren’t the VP of Marketing for BIGCO! Savour the moment. Some of my peers have a natural (or conditioned) ability to make whomever they are speaking to feel like the most important human in the world at that moment. Other people will never know the colour of your eyes, because the minute they meet you it feels like they are looking past you for a better contact to slay.

Once you give one enjoyable and deep first exchange with someone, the next few will be even easier. It then becomes a multiplier effect because everywhere you turn for the rest of the event, you now have new friends you can lean on when the networking hits a roadblock.

Perhaps you are still too shy, despite reading this. You’re feeling you need a wingman. So go get one? Invite a colleague or supplier to the event. Jump on social media ahead of time and let other delegates know you are new and you would love to meet up Wednesday night for a drink or Thursday at breakfast to make new friends. I’m getting hammered on my SXSW social feeds by sales people wanting to meet me in Austin to pitch T1. Never. But if someone said hey I’m also from Toronto and headed to SXSW alone and would love to meet others from the 6, I would be my regular cruise director self.

If all else fails, I can let you know this. We build so much networking into CSFX, I don’t think you’ll be alone. But if you think you will be, let me know and one of my T1 colleagues will gladly introduce you to three delegates. From there you will have an awesome start and the perfect prescription to combat FOBA.

If you are joining us next week at the brand new, kick-ass Delta Toronto for the 2016 Canadian Sponsorship Forum Xperience, you need to come prepared. Only a rookie or a Denver Broncos fan would show up at the doorstep of one my events without properly preparing. This isn’t your Mom’s packing list for summer camp when you were nine years old and overly anxious about passing the early morning cold water swim test.

Nope. You’re an adult now. Regardless of whether you are coming from Victoria, BC or Victoria Street Toronto, you are on your own to get organized for the splash you are about to make. But, because the inner ringleader in me always wants to get out, I thought I would share with you some of my personal secrets for what you should pack.

In honour of our Moms, I am not going to use numbers. This pains me as I love using numbers, but hey did your Mom ever use numbers for her lists? Me think not! Okay, where to begin?

• Check your Uber app. If you don’t have it, load it now. Maybe take a couple of test runs to get your passenger rating up so you can get higher on the dispatch priority. Make sure it’s up to date and you have a valid credit card. Rumour has it that Toronto cabbies think this would be a great time to strike and show the world what an (in)hospitable city we are.
• Custom reserved seating sign. I’ve always daydreamed about this. If you want the best seat in the house for Don Mayo, Kim McConnie, or Mitch Joel, why not give this a try.
• A cold compress for your neck. Unless you’re Justin Orfus from my team, you are going to spend a lot of time looking up!

• Find room in your gym bag for your crossover dribble because our CSFX Delegate Basketball Tournament is going to be for industry bragging rights! You know that pressure you feel on a Par 3 during a corporate tournament when two foursomes are stalled behind you. That will seem like a Grade 3 gym class compared to the crowds at the NBA Center Court where we will be hosting our tourney. So come prepared.
• A cup full of decisiveness. Think about the challenge you will have selecting among these head to head speakers: Wrigley Canada’s Dan Alvo vs Labatt Breweries of Canada’s Andrew Oosterhuis, Metro’s Nancy Modrcin vs Holt Renfrew’s Alison Simpson, Canadian Pacific’s Mark Wallace and Crankworx’s Darren Kinnaird vs the women-only panel.
• Your autograph book. I know it’s not for you. It’s for your nephew in Saskatoon. He just happens to have the same name as you! Wow, so many coincidences.
• Your Emmy Award. Judy John won one for the #LikeAGirl campaign she spearheaded for Procter & Gamble. I’m sure she will show you hers, if you bring yours.

• Your Inner Maker. Mark Stewart, Chief Innovator at wonderMakr, isn’t going to let you sit on your hands during his session. No, you will need to get them out and ready to make, break, and shake your way to learning how to be innovative.
• A teammate for Saturday. If you haven’t taken me up in our special offer yet, you have no one to blame but yourselfie! Do you like my new word?
• Your best social media one liners. You will want to make your friends jealous when you’re up close and personal with the world’s best ballers during the NBA All-Star Practice on Saturday.
• Our app. We have saved a thousand trees this year and not printed a guidebook, so if you want to network with that person you met in lunch Friday, you will need our app to send him a followup note. His, and everyone else’s, coordinates will be right at your finger tips.
• Underwear. Yes it seems obvious, unless you attended Forum in 2012 when we handed out, you guessed it, underwear as a delegate gift.

• In those underwear, you may want to have your name, cell phone, and a “If found, please return me to the Delta Toronto” message.
• Thundersticks. Why would MH3, the hater of all Thunderstick promotions ever implemented, be suggesting you bring the very same. It’s simple. Our speaker lineup is worthy of much more than applause and I can’t imagine you doing the wave. Besides, that’s so baseball. So I think to really show your love, you need to bring a little extra. The choice is yours, bells, horns, freshly energized lungs. I will even admire your inflatabe clappers!

There really aren’t a whole lot of rules about attending CSFX, but bring your A-game. We are bringing ours!